Phellinus gilvus

Description

Phellinus gilvus is an inedible fungus. It is widespread in North America's hardwood forests. The easiest way to recognize it is the marginal area of growth is often mustard yellow contrasting nicely with the reddish brown cap.

Phellinus gilvus (Schwein.) Pat, a species of ‘Sanghuang’, belongs to the family Hymenochaetaceae in Basidomycota. Sanghuang (Phellinus spp.) has been used as Chinese traditional medicine for over 2000 years to treat various diseases such as stomachache, inflammation, and tumors. Recent investigations demonstrated that Phellinus spp. has multifunctional bioactivities, including anti-carcinogenesis, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-fungal, and immunomodulatory activities, as well as anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective effects.

Common names: Mustard Yellow Polypore.

Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Saprobic on the dead wood of hardwoods (especially oaks), causing a white rot of the sapwood; also apparently occasionally parasitic on the heartwood of living hardwoods; growing alone or in overlapping clusters; usually annual but occasionally perennial; found year-round, especially in warmer climates, but usually appearing in late spring, summer and fall; widely distributed in North America but absent or rare in the Rocky Mountains.

2. Cap

   Up to 15 cm across; more or less semicircular, irregularly bracket-shaped, or kidney-shaped; flattened-convex; rugged; sometimes somewhat velvety; the margin when growing velvety and mustard yellow to yellowish; elsewhere dark reddish-brown or dark yellowish-brown (eventually blackish).

3. Pore Surface

   Dark purplish brown to brown or reddish-brown; pores minute (6-8 per mm); tubes 1-5 mm deep (for each layer, in perennial specimens).

4. Stem

   Absent.

5. Flesh

   Bright yellowish-brown to orange-brown; tough.

6. Chemical Reactions

   KOH red, then black (or merely black) on all surfaces.

7. Microscopic Features

   Spores 4-5 x 3-3.5 µ; smooth; elliptical. Setae abundant; thick-walled; dark brown in KOH. Hyphal system dimitic.

Synonyms

1. Fuscoporia gilva (Schwein.) T. Wagner & M. Fisch.

2. Polyporus gilvus (Schw.) Fr.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: atsushi_nakajima_cirque (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 2 - Author: a_schmidy_botanist (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: wearethechampignons (Public Domain)

Photo 4 - Author: atsushi_nakajima_cirque (CC BY 4.0)